Public authorities can play a crucial role in striving for and realising a more equal society for all, both as employers and – more widely – as key actors in society. Putting in place a strategy for equality and anti-discrimination in public procurement is one key step that such authorities can take, using their purchasing power as a direct tool to foster social change. The EU legal framework regulating public procurement, adopted in 2014 and in force as of April 2016, offers public authorities a range of opportunities to be socially as well as environmentally responsible.
This project is capitalising on the previous BUYDIS project which focused on the French legal and political frameworks for anti-discrimination clauses in public procurement. It is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment and seeks to investigate the scope for equality and anti-discrimination clauses throughout the different steps of the procurement process, within the new EU legal framework. The main aim of the project is to explore, analyse and compare good practice examples of such clauses in public contracts passed by the following local authorities: the cities of Ghent (Belgium), Lyon, Nantes and Paris (France) and the region of Gipuzkoa (Spain, Basque country).